Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Howard University Jazz Ensemble: HUJE 2022

31

Howard University Jazz Ensemble: HUJE 2022

By

View read count
Howard University Jazz Ensemble: HUJE 2022
Recordings by the superb Howard University Jazz Ensemble have been surfacing like clockwork each year since shortly after the orchestra was formed in 1975 by its first (and only) music director, Fred Irby III. Sometimes the albums have overall themes, while others (such as this one) are dedicated to one or more of the university's distinguished alumni.

Andrew Nathaniel White III, a Washingtonian who graduated cum laude from Howard in 1964, was a multi-instrumentalist whose notable career spanned the worlds of jazz, classical and popular music. From 1968 to 1970, White served as principal oboist with the American Ballet Theatre. He later played electric bass with Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and the Fifth Dimension, recorded on oboe and English horn with Weather Report, and appeared as a sideman with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and Kenny Clarke among others, besides performing with various ensembles including the DC-based JFK Quintet. In 2007, White was honored by Howard University with its prestigious Benny Golson Jazz Master Award. This album is a tribute to his extraordinary life and impressive accomplishments.

On HUJE 2022, the ensemble opens with one of White's engaging compositions, the jazz two-step "My Women," before moving on to charmers by Herbie Hancock, Cedar Walton, Hank Mobley, Jimmy Heath, Larry Willis and David Leonhardt, the Nat King Cole hit "Frim-Fram Sauce" and a lone standard, Willard Robison's irrepressible "Old Folks." The arrangers are Ron Horton, Mike Crotty, Scott Silbert, Joe Wright and Kevin Toney (who scored "My Women"). Alto saxophonist Langston Hughes II solos marvelously on that one, as he does on "Old Folks," Walton's "Holy Land" and "Frim-Fram Sauce." The ensemble has a number of splendid soloists, but if there is one (as is said of college football or basketball stars) who seems "destined to play at the next level," that would have to be Hughes—with trumpeter Paul Bailey and electric guitarist Kyle Rice earning honorable mention.

While there are no barn-burners on the menu ("Holy Land" comes closest), the orchestra defines each number so well that their absence is scarcely noticed. The melodies are consistently engaging, and there are admirable solos along the way by Hughes, Bailey, electric guitarists Rice and Jackson Dunkin, vibraphonist Sean MacCarthy-Grant and pianists James Woods Jr., Shomari Mbasi Hall and Alanah Butler. Brass and reeds are sharp and solid, as is the agile rhythm section. As for highlights, pick a song, any song. It is fair to assume that White would have praised and admired HUJE 2022, as would almost any partisan of first-class big-band jazz. This one is a winner from downbeat to coda.

Track Listing

My Women (Mes Hommes); To Wisdom, the Prize; Chan’s Song (Never Said); Holy Land; Funk in Deep Freeze; Romantic Night; Old Folks; Frim-Fram Sauce; A Sassy Samba.

Personnel

Fred Irby III
composer / conductor
Paul bailey
trumpet
Na'vaughn Martin
saxophone, tenor
Antonio Parker
saxophone
David Onley
saxophone, baritone
Ian Claville
saxophone, baritone
Paul Phifer
trombone
Timothy Johnson
trombone, bass
Jackson Dunkin
guitar, electric
Kyle Rice
guitar, electric
Additional Instrumentation

Sean MacCarthy-Grant: vibraphone, percussion; Eliot Seppa: bass; Samuel Prather: drums.

Album information

Title: HUJE 2022 | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: HUJE

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.